Ice Age: The Meltdown Switcheroo
by ninjagogirl luvs iceage21
Summary: Now that the girls have made it to the south, a heatwave is melting all the ice, beginning the creation of the great flood. Now everyone must evacuate to the boat at the end of the valley. Along the way, Ellie learns about Manny the mammoth and who he truely is. Meanwhile, Shira has found somebody of her own, but does she have feelings for him? Will our beloved girls make it? K
1. Introduction

ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN SWITCHEROO

INTRODUCTION

HEATWAVE IN THE SOUTH

 **HEY, GUYS!**

 **HERE IT IS. MY ICE AGE SWITCHEROO FOR THE MELTDOWN.**

 **I WILL BE HONEST WITH YOU. THIS AND CONTINENTAL DRIFT WERE MY FAVORITE IN THE ICE AGE MOVIES. DON'T GET ME WRONG. I LOVE THE FIRST AND THIRD, BUT THOSE TWO WERE MY FAVORITE. HOPEFULLY, I'LL HAVE THE SAME FEELINGS FOR THE FIFTH MOVIE. I JUST LOVE ICE AGE.**

 **HERE YOU GO. ALSO, I DONT OWN ICE AGE OR IT'S CHARACTERS OR PARTS OF THE SCRIPT THAT I USE. ICE AGE BELONGS TO BLUE SKIES STUDIOS.**

 **ENJOY!**

Upon the cliffs of the valley in the south, a female saber-tooth squirrel named Scratte scurries her way up one of the ice cliffs. She held in her tiny paws an acorn that looked as though she was grasping it for dear life. She looked to see a tiny crack in the ice and decided to place her nut inside it. When she stuck it in there, water started spewing from the hole, splashing in the female squirrel's face. She placed her paw on the hole, but that caused another hole to form and spray out more water. She used her other paw to cover it up. Suddenly, three more holes started spraying out water and Scratte had no choice but to use both her feet and her mouth to cover them all up. Water started filling up her mouth, which caused the female squirrel to blow up like a water balloon and spray herself all over the place. All the holes started pouring water out of them as Scratte fell off the cliff. Luckily, her acorn was able to come with her as it bonked her on the head. She hugged it right, but she was unaware that a kid was sliding down on the ice slide. She didn't know that she was on the bottom of the slide until the little aardvark caused Scratte to hit the river, causing her and her acorn to separate from each other.

All the animals of the Ice Age were having a great time in the water. The heat in the south was unbearable and it was the best way to keep cool. Some animals were able to find some cool places on some icebergs. Two sloth who were husband and wife were trying to keep themselves cool.

"This global warming is killing me," the sloth husband complained, "This heat is unbearable."

"This is too hot and the Ice Age was too cold," the sloth wife mocked her husband, "What's it gonna take to make you happy?"

The sloth wife slid off the ice, landing in the river. The sloth husband sighed peacefully. "This I like."

On another side of the pool, there were animals standing on one back leg and one front leg or paw. These animals were being lead by Brooke, who was teaching her own yoga class. She was in a peaceful state of mind as she lead the class. "Now just stay in this pose as you relieve all the stress that you've gained. Now breathe in slowly and let it all out with a long exhale." They all followed Brooke's leadership as they returned back to their normal pose. "Great job, everyone. That was wonderful. Well, that ends today's class. I'll see you all next week."

All the animals started to pile out as Ellie and Shira walked by. Ellie was the first to greet the sloth. "Hey, Brooke. What are you doing?"

"Oh, hello there, dears," Brooke said, "I just finished teaching my first yoga class. I call it Yoga Peace."

"That is the most ridiculous name I've ever heard," Shira said.

"Well, of that's what makes you happy, we're there to support you all the way," Ellie said.

"We'll, of you want, you could join me for next week's class," Brooke said, "You two could be my assistants. Especially you, Shira."

"What are you talking about?" Shira asked, "I'm not joining your stupid yoga class."

"I can still sense that your hips have an aching pain inside," Brooke said, feeling Shira's hip.

"Keep your dirty paws off my hips." Shira smacked her hip right in the middle of Brooke's abdomen, causing her to hiss in pain. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" Ellie asked.

"I'm fine," Shira said, holding a paw up to keep Ellie from trying to help her, "Just leave me alone. For goodness sakes, I sprained my hip six weeks ago. Why does it still hurt?"

"Maybe because you won't relax it," Brooke said, dusting herself off, "Have you tried cooling it down with some water?"

"How can I when the water is full of animals?"

"Don't tell me you're afraid of water," Ellie said.

"I'm not afraid of water," Shira said, "I've grown up around water. My own father taught me how to swim."

"Now I don't think I can believe that."

"Better not be calling me a liar."

"Well, ladies, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to get ready for my choir class," Brooke said.

"Choir class?" Ellie asked.

"Oh, yes, but before I head out over there, I need to make sure the daycare is still in order."

"Daycare?" Shira asked.

"James! Ryan! No running!" The three females heard a male voice calling out to two little children.

"You can't catch us, fatty," one of the kids said as he continued running.

"Excuse me, but haven't you ever heard of the word respect?" The voice came from a mammoth named Manfred, who was also known as Manny. He was a dark brown mammoth with light brown eyes. He could be a kind jolly guy wcrry now and then, but when it came to someone making him furious, it could take some time to calm him down. "I believe that's how you need to treat me. I deserve it as much as you."

"Look at me!" another kid shouted, "Water ball!"

"Richard, you need to wait an hour. You just ate." He looked to see another kid somewhere else. "No, Stanley, you can't go to the bathroom there. Okay, there's fine." He turned to face someone else. "Ashley, stop that. Don't let others are you doing that."

"Really?" Ellie asked, "Of all the mammals in the Ice Age, you chose Manny to help you with this daycare?"

"I asked him and he said yes," Brooke said.

Manny looked to see the three females. "Oh, hey girls. Good to see you all. Nothing to worry about, Brooke. Everything is under control here. You're lucky to have a guy like me giving these kids a chance to have fun. It looks as though these kids are starting to like me. Right, kid?"

"Don't make me eat you, fatty," a kid said.

"Billy, that's not nice," Brooke said, "Apologize to Mr. Manny, please."

"Is there a reason why I should?"

"Is there a reason why you should be calling him fat?" Ellie asked.

"Ellie, don't squash their creativity," Shira said.

"I really enjoy it when you stand up for me," Manny said, pointing at Ellie, "That makes us true friends." While traveling south, Ellie and the others were walking through a bumpy part of the road. Shira was still having a hard time walking due to her sprained hip and tripped, causing her not to be able to get up. Manny had just happened to walk by and decided to help the girls by carrying Shira throughout the rest of the trip. He and Ellie had tried to have some conversations with each other, but once they finally caught up with the other mammals, she told Manny that it would be better if they sticked to just being friends.

Ellie tried to smile, but she could only muster up a small grin. "Well, I suppose it does."

"Oh, Manny, I just don't think I can leave you alone with the children for this long," Brooke said, "Maybe I should skip choir class today."

"Brooke, you have got to slow down," Shira said, "You can't teach a yoga class, be in charge of a daycare, and be in a choir class at the same time."

"Besides, you're only qualified to do two out of three of those things," Ellie said.

"What do qualifications have to do with any of this?' Brooke asked, "Besides, these kids look up to me. I feel like a role model to them."

"Are you sure about that or is somebody else like a role model to them?" Shira said, pointing to Manny.

Brooke shook her head. "You two don't think that I can do anything. Well, guess what? I'm an equal member of this herd. After all, I'm the creator of it. That means you need to start thinking I can do whatever I put my mind to and treat me with a little respect." With that being said, Brooke walked away from her friends.

"Brooke, I was just kidding. You know I like to joke around. Right, Ellie?"

"Come on, Brooke. It was just a silly joke."

"Hey, let's play pin the tail in the lady mammoth," one of the kids said as the other kids cheered.

Ellie and Shira shouted out, "Brooke!"

Brooke was walking down the clear ice path. "They think I can't do so many things at one time. They think they can't show me respect. I guess I'll just have to earn it. I'll show them."

Back over at the daycare, Shira was finishing up a story that she decided to tell the children. "And so, the little bunny was finally able to reach his mama. And they lived happily ever after."

"Good job," Ellie said, "You're pretty good at storytelling."

"Um, I have a question," one of the kids said, "Why did the bunny go home? Why didn't he stay with the molehogs?"

"Because he wanted to go back home to his family," Shira said.

"I think there should have been a girl bunny," a little bird girls said, "That would make a better love story.

"Who wants a love story?" another kid said, "You know, saying the term bunny means that your trying to hide it's real name. Technically, some refer it to be a wild jackrabbit."

Shira shook her head. "Fine. The wild jackrabbit boy went home to his wild jackrabbit mother." All the children started laughing. Shira sighed. "That's why I called it a bunny."

"Do you think the bunny had a problem with eating his vegetables?" one kid asked.

"Boring. Nobody would listen to a story like that."

"Could you tell it in a way that the bunny was born with only one ear?"

"Sometimes I throw up."

"That's...nice to know," Ellie said.

"They lived happily ever after," Shira said, "You can't get any simpler than that. One big happy family."

"Then where's your one big happy family?" the little girl bird asked.

Shira's eyes widened. Ellie knew that Shira was upset, so she decided to get rid of the kids. "And then the big lady mammoth tries to stomp on the kids." Ellie jumped and the ground made a boom sound as the children ran away in fright. Ellie looked to see Shira walking away. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Shira said, "Leave me alone."

"You don't sound fine," Manny said.

"Manny, go make sure the kids don't hurt themselves," Ellie said as Manny walked away. She turned back to Shira. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No," Shira said, "Story time's over. The end."

"Run for your lives!" a crazy bird shouted, running around like crazy.

Ellie stopped the female bird. "Hey, calm down. What's going on?"

"The world's coming to an end."

"What are you talking about?" Shira asked.

"Crazy Carol said that the world's gonna flood," the bird shout, "Run! Run!"

Ellie shook her head as she and Shira went to see what all the fuss was about.

* * *

 **SEE THAT? A LOT IS CHANGING IN THIS ONE. MANNY IS IN THIS. I'M NOT SURE IF HE'S OFFICIALLY PART OF THE HERD OR NOT, BUT WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT MY MIND THINKS.**

 **WELL, SEE YOU GUYS FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	2. Inside a Bowl

CHAPTER 1

INSIDE A BOWL

Everybody had gathered around a large rock statue to see a mole hog standing there in front of everyone. This was the Crazy Carol mammal that everyone talked about who stated that the world was gonna flood and end all life on earth as they knew it. Her voice sounded as crazy as her personality.

"That's right, people. A great flood so powerful will end all life on earth. It can actually pull air right out of the sky. Gather around, folks." She pointed out a female sloth. "Excuse me, ma'am. Do you have gills?" The woman shook her head. "So you can't breathe underwater? Of course you can't, but my latest state of the art technology might be able to help you. Allow my assistant to show you what I mean."

She introduced a giant tortoise who had a wooden straw in her nose. "I can smell the air." She snorted as she laughed.

Crazy Carol stormed over to the female tortoise and snatched the straw from her nose. "You breathe through it from your mouth, you idiot. Now I won't be able to sell it." She showed the wooden straw to everyone. "Feast your eyes on this creation. Through it's design and sturdy construction, you'll have enough air to last for years to come. Results may vary."

Ellie snatched Crazy Carol from the rock stand. "Why are you scaring everybody with all this doomsday nonsense?"

"Listen, honey, I'm trying to make a living here," Crazy Carol said, "It's my weekly forecast. The five day outlook calls for intense flooding followed by the end of the world. Also, there will be plenty of sunshine later on in the week."

"Don't listen to her," Ellie said, "Crazy Carol is nothing but a loony in the head. She would sell her own father for a grape to feed herself."

"Are you making an offer?" Crazy Carol looked to see everyone looking at her like a weirdo. "I mean, no, I would not."

"Haven't you heard?" one of the animals in the crowd said, "The ice is melting. A flood is on its way."

"Do you see the ground we're standing on?" Shira said, "It is completely covered in ice. Thousands of years ago, it was covered in ice. Thousands of years later, it will still be ice. It will be nothing more, nothing less."

"Um, not to judge your survival instincts or anything like that, but haven't sabers pretty much escaped from this world?" a female anteater asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you being one of the last few of your kind."

Shira knew she needed to distract the mammal. "Uh, your breath smells like ants."

The anteater smelled her breath, knowing that it did smell like ants. "Oh! Be that as it may, when was the last time you saw another saber?"

"About six weeks ago."

"I meant someone that you knew for longer than that."

Shira's eyes widened. Ellie tried to keep her hopes up. "Don't listen to her, Shira. She's just trying to start up something new."

"Sabers can't go extinct," Shira said, "They're the most fiercest predators on earth."

"Well, what about the dinosaurs?" Manny asked.

"The dinosaurs got cocky and made a whole lot of enemies."

"Look!" somebody shouted, "Some weirdo is climbing the tallest tree that goes pass the eviscerator."

"Please tell me that's not who I think it is," Ellie said.

"I'm still going up, everyone," Brooke shouted, "I'm not stopping until I climb to the top. Just give me a moment to climb up there."

"Brooke!" Ellie shouted, "Stay right where you are and don't move a muscle. We're coming up."

Everybody started chanting "climb" to encourage Brooke to keep going. Even Shira joined in. Ellie have her a look as The female saber stared at her bewildered. "What?"

"Don't worry, everyone," Brooke shouted, "I'm almost to the top."

"Brooke." The female sloth looked to see Ellie and Shira looking at her. "What the heck do you think you're doing? Get down from there."

"No can do, girls. I'm going to reach the top of this tree and prove to you girls that I can do anything. Then you'll have to treat me with respect."

"The only respect you'll be getting is respect of the dead if you don't get down from there," Shira said.

"I really hope she's not stupid enough to do this," Ellie said, "Hopefully, she'll be careful." They looked to see that Brooke had grabbed a branch, but it was starting to break. She gasped as the other two gasped. "I've been wrong before."

"I've changed my mind," Brooke said, "Somebody help me."

"Hang on, Brooke." Ellie made her way over towards the side of the eviscerator, holding out her trunk to reach out for Brooke. The female sloth fell, but luckily she was caught by her mammoth friend. "Gotcha."

"Oh, I feel as though I can't breathe. I think I'm about to be sick." Brooke placed a paw on her stomach. "Does anybody else hear a cracking sound?"

"What?" Shira asked before she looked down to see the ice cracking underneath them, "Guys, the ground is cracking. Move out of the way." Shira got the others off the thin part of the ice and placed them on thicker ground. Shira ended up falling into the water. Brooke and Ellie gasped as they had the feeling that Shira was afraid of water. Ellie was about to help her when Shira stopped her friend. "I don't need your help. I can get out of here myself." Shira removed herself from the water, shaking it out of her fur.

Brooke gasped with excitement. "Oh, my goodness, Shira darling. I didn't know you could swim. Not a lot of sabers enjoy a sort of sport like that."

"Yeah. A lot of mammals tell me that, too."

"Where did you learn how to swim, anyway?"

"My daddy...Oh, I mean my mother taught me how. Did I tell you that we lived on a cliff near the ocean?"

"Yes, I do mention that you said something about that, but why did you mention your father? I thought you never had a father figure in your life."

"Well, I guess it just...slipped out." Shira placed a paw over her lips.

"Girls," Ellie said, "Crazy Carol is right. Everything is melting."

"You're right," Brooke said, "It's all going to flood."

"Come on," Shira said, "We've got to warm everybody about this."

"You know, I have this strange feeling that we could magically evolve into sea creatures."

"I bet my mine lives that will never happen, Brooke."

"Call me Brooke the blowfish." Brooke jumped on top of Ellie. "This whole landmark is a piece of junk. I cannot believe I live here."

A crack could be heard through the ice as the three females looked at each other. "Uh, oh." It only took a millisecond for the ice piece to break off, making the three mammals fall to their doom.

Back at the bottom of the waterfall, Crazy Carol kept rambling in about trades and such nonsense. "Let's forget about reeds and look at a new revolutionary invention we call tree bark. It's so strong, it actually floats."

"I'll show you something that floats," somebody from the disappearing crowd said.

"Well, It's your funeral. I guess you won't listen. That's fine by me." Crazy Carol turned around to see Ellie, Brooke and Shira fall in the water. "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Giant balls of furry lava balls the size as mammoths falling from the sky."

"Nobody's gonna listen to you, Crazy Carol," Manny said, "You're nothing but a lunatic. Go suck air through a reed." Manny started walking away.

"Everybody, listen to her," Ellie said, "She's right about the flood."

"I am?" Crazy Carol asked as she was coming back to her senses, "I mean, yes, I am."

"Wait a second, Ellie," Manny said, "You guys were the ones that said there wasn't gonna be a flood. If you didn't want is to believe Crazy Carol, why should we believe you?"

"Because we saw what's up there," Shira said, The dam's gonna break and the entire valley's gonna flood."

Everybody except Manny started laughing before they heard a mysterious female voice. "The flood's real. They're speaking the truth." They all looked up to see a vulture staring at them from a tree branch. "Look around you. You're inside a bowl. A giant bowl. The bowl's gonna fill up and there won't be a way out."

"What shall we do, oh great vulture?" Brooke asked.

"Knock it off, Brooke," Shira said.

"There's only one way," the female vulture said, "You'll have to make it to the end of the valley. There's a boat. It can save you. You all better hurry, though. Ground's melting, walls tumbling, rocks crumbling. Survive that and you'll be racing the water because in three days time, it's gonna got the geyser fields. There is some good news, though. The more of you that die, the better I eat." Everybody gasped. "I didn't say it was good news for you." The female vulture flew off in the distance.

"She must have been a real pleasure to have in class," Brooke said.

Manny looked up to see a giant iceberg fall from the ice wall, hitting the water. Manny's eyes widened. "Dam."

"Okay, everybody, let's move out," Ellie said, moving everybody on.

Manny walked up to Ellie. "Ellie, do you really think there is a boat?"

"I don't know, but in a few days, this place is gonna be underwater. If there's any hope, it's that way."

Shira followed behind the two mammoths, but stopped when she saw an iceberg floating in the water. It frightened her a little, but she heard her name being called out by Brooke. "Shira darling, let's go."

Shira ran off from the iceberg, but little did she know that frozen inside of it was a tiger shark and a crocodile. Looking straight in the shark's eye, he blink, showing that he was indeed alive.

* * *

 **YES, I DID SWITCH A LOT OF THINGS AROUND IN THIS STORY. INSTEAD OF MAMMOTHS GOING EXTINCT, IT'S THE SABERS. HOW CAN THAT BE? THE LAST TIME WE SAW SABERS IN THE LAST STORY WAS SIX WEEKS AGO. NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, ALL THE SABERS IN SHIRA'S OLD PACK WAS DESYROYED. ALSO, WHY DID SHIRA MENTION HER FATHER? DID IT REALLY JUST SLIP OUT?**

 **I GUESS WE'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	3. A Weird Start

CHAPTER 2

A WEIRD START

All the mammals started the migration in order to make it to the boat. Everybody got their families together to start making it over to the boat. Vultures were sitting in the trees, watching the large group of animals make their way towards life. Mammals big and small had just began their travels. Our three female mammals were traveling together, along with Manny. They had no idea he was following them until Ellie turned around and have him a look.

"Why are you following us?" Ellie asked.

"Well, I figured you girls would love to have some company," Manny said, "I hope you three don't mind if I tag along."

"Sure. Why not? You've been following us around since we got here. Just for the record, you haven't been invited in the herd."

"Well, who knows? You might change your mind in the future."

Brooke stuck to Shira's side. "Oh, Shira darling. I heard the terrible news. Your kind is becoming extinct. This is so horrible. I'm sure you have a million things that you plan to do before you die."

Shira pushed the sloth off her. "I'm not going extinct."

"Kids, look," a female sloth said, showing her sloth children Shira, "One of the last few sabers." The young ones stared in awe. The mother sloth giggled. "I bet you'll never see another one of those again."

"See what I mean?" Brooke told Shira.

The father sloth made sure all the kids were together. "Let's see. We have Rodney, Staci, Ellen...where's John?"

Back at the river, a little sloth named John was playing in the water, splashing it around with his paws. He looked up to see a wood straw coming towards him. He backed away a little, having no idea what it was. When it came out of the water, little John screamed and ran off to where his family was. It wasn't anybody harmful, though. It was only the female tortoise who wasn't very bright and started laughing like an idiot. It only took a second for her to be pulled underwater, not returning back up to the surface.

Crazy Carol started calling out for her. "Jessica! Come on, Jessica! Let's blow this ice-cube stand." She looked to see a shell bob up the surface. She looked inside of it. "Jessica!" Crazy Carol had a twitch in her eye, knowing that she had an idea. "Mammals, be the first one to have your very own mobile home."

Coming up to the surface was a tiger shark looking at the molehog. Once it had a good look at her, he went back underwater. There were plenty of other animals to go around.

Meanwhile, the girls and Manny were making their way down the trail. Brooke began trying to start up a conversation. "So Shira, if your kind is going extinct, how is the livelihood of this world suppose to survive with so many mammals m multiplying all over the place?"

"Shut up, Brooke," Shira said.

"Alright."

Around sunset, Brooke tried to sing a tune. "Extinction happens with all of us and the sabers are the first to go."

"Stop singing, Brooke."

At nighttime, Brooke was trying to sing something fun to lighten up the mood. "If you think that sabers are going extinct, clap your hands." Brooke clapped her hands. "If you think that-"

"Brooke, I will make Ellie fall on you again with Manny doubling the weight and this time, you will be killed."

"Okay, okay. Some people aren't a big fan of the classics."

The next morning, the group was still traveling when Shira stopped in front of some icicles, staring at her reflection. She sighed. "What of you're right? What if I am one of the last few sabers?"

"It's alright, Shira," Ellie said.

"Look on the bright side," Brooke said, "You have us."

"Not your most persuasive argument, Brooke."

Shira shook her head, but her ears perked up when she heard what sounded like a roar. She gasped. "Sabers? I knew I couldn't have been the last one. I knew it in my heart that there was still some out there. Extinction? Come on. That will never come to bite me in the butt." Shira ran off into the woods.

"Shira, wait!" Ellie called out, running after her.

"Oh, I love a good race!" Brooke said, following after the other two.

"And they're off!" Manny shouted, "Shira's up by a couple of fifths, ahead by a tusk. And she's beating Ellie as the mammoth comes around the corner. Meanwhile, Brooke remains in dead last. Who will win this race?"

They stopped when all had seen a beaver sitting in a tree, blowing in a horn that sounded almost like a saber roar. She looked down at the group. "Sorry about that. Just making sure my horn still works. You never know when you need to protect yourself from predators." She blew the horn again, making it roar just like a saber.

"Well, that's very...unique," Brooke said.

"Yeah," Ellie said, "It does look like something that might come in handy."

Shira started walking away from the group. Brooke looked at her saber friend with worry in her eyes. "Shira darling."

Shira looked at her friends. "I...I need to be alone for a while. I just need to think. Just go on without me. I'll catch up." Shira disappeared in the woods.

"Oh, poor Shira," Brooke said, "One is a very lonely number. Isn't it, Ellie?"

"It is, but we don't know whether or not the sabers are going extinct," Ellie said, "The best thing we need to do is cheer Shira up."

Out of nowhere, an acorn hit Manny on the head. "Ow!" Manny looked up to see what looked to be two identical possum twins up in the trees.

One of the smirked at Manny. "These work great. Especially on fat mammoths."

"Cool," said the other possum.

"Alright," Manny said, "Who are you guys and why are you shooting acorns at us?"

"Correction," one of the possums said, "Why are we shooting acorns at you?" He continued shooting acorns at Manny, who was dodging them the best he could. He tried grabbing the possum, but the little mammal climbed up higher in the tree. "Miss me. Now you gotta kiss me."

"I'll get you if it's the last thing I do."

Both the possums jumped inside holes. Manny tried catching them, but he ended up playing whack a mole with them.

"Which end is up?" one of the possums asked as he went back in the hole.

"I'd hide that face if I were you," the other possum said, going back in the hole.

"Hey, ugly." The first possum kicked Manny in the butt.

"Hey, I gotta sit on that," Manny said, trying to whack the possum in the head.

Ellie started laughing. Brooke stared at her with a confused expression. "Um, Ellie, does something seem funny to you?"

"Yeah, it does," Ellie said, continuing to laugh, "I will be honest with you. I never laugh at Manny's jokes, but seeing him this way just makes me laugh. I couldn't hold it in. It was just too funny to resist."

"Ok. I suppose that's a simple enough explanation."

Manny continued to fight with the possums. He finally had them down. "Do you surrender?"

"Never!" the possum brothers shouted.

They started throwing slushed up snowballs at the male mammoth. Manny started to get annoyed. "Alright, cut it out!"

"That was so awesome!" one of the possums exclaimed.

"I know," the other possum said, "Hey, if you ever wanna play with us again, just give us a shout."

Manny turned to look at the girls with blushed cheeks. "If anybody ask, there were fifty of them and they were all rattlesnakes."

"Don't worry," Ellie said, "Your secrets safe with us."

"Here, fatty, fatty," one of the possum twins called out.

"You just made a big mistake, you little miscreants!" Manny shouted.

"Miscreants?"

"Um, Manny, they're possums," Brooke said.

"Yeah," Manny said, "Two possums that are about to get their heads ripped off." Manny started running up to the twin possums.

The twins screamed. "Retreat!" They scurried away in fear.

Ellie chuckled. "Come on. Let's go make sure Manny doesn't literally rip their heads off." The two females followed after Manny.

Meanwhile, Shira was walking over by the river, looking at her reflection. She sighed as she did her best to hold back the tears. "I guess it's just you and me now." Shira had given up hope as she knew that the only saber she would ever see was herself. That's when she saw something hanging from the tree right in front of her.

* * *

 **OHH, I WONDER WHAT OR WHO SHIRA SAW. I BET YOU ALREADY KNOW.**

 **WELL, I BID YOU FAREWELL UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	4. I'm Not a Saber, I'm a Possum

CHAPTER 3

I'M NOT A SABER, I'M A POSSUM

Shira looked in front of her to see a saber hanging upside down from a tree. She was surprised at the sudden arrival of another saber and would've been glad to see him if he hadn't of scared her.

"AAAAHHH!" Shira screamed.

"AAAAHHH!" the male saber screamed, falling out of the tree.

Shira looked at him. He was an orange saber with a batch of peach colored fur surrounding his stomach. He had green eyes that went directly into her teal eyes. Shira couldn't help but squeal in delight. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew I wasn't the only one. I just knew it!"

"Me, too!" the male saber exclaimed, "Everybody falls out of trees every now and then. They just think it's too embarrassing to admit it."

"Wait. What?"

"Well, some of us have a hard time holding on to tree branches. It's not like we're flying animals or anything like that. We don't have wings to keep us up in the air. Our feet were made to be on the ground."

"Ok, but what were you doing up in the tree in the first place?"

"Oh, I was looking for my older brothers." Shira looked to see the male mammoth back up in the tree. "They tend to get into trouble every now and then."

"Older brothers? You mean there's more of us."

"Of course there are. There are plenty of us."

"Where?"

"Everywhere. Under rocks, holes in the ground, up in the trees. Usually we like to go out at night so predators don't tend to harm us."

"Help!" The sabers looked to see the possum twins making their way towards them. They were being chased by Manny. "Help us!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Manny shouted, "You better run!"

"Manny, slow down," Ellie said, "As hilarious as it was, I think it's time to let it go." Ellie looked over to see Shira. "Oh, hey Shira."

Brooke gasped. "Well, shave me down and call me an Egyptian cat. You found another saber, Shira darling."

The male saber gasped. "Where? Wait a minute. I thought sabers were at the start of extinction." Everybody started looking at him with weird expressions. "Why are you all staring at me?"

"I don't know," Shira said, "Maybe it's because you are a saber."

"What? Me?" The male saber started laughing. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a saber. I'm a possum."

Shira chuckled nervously. "Okay, that's a good one. Well, I guess that makes me a squirrel. This is my friend the yak and this here is the fish."

"Why do I have to be known as the fish?" Brooke asked, "Make Ellie the fish."

"Are these guys giving you trouble, bro?" one of the possums asked.

"Bro?" the group said.

"That's right," the male saber said, "These are my brothers. Possum, possum, possum."

Ellie looked at Shira. "I don't think his tree goes all the way up to the top branch."

"Ellie, don't give Shira any ideas," Brooke said, "At the brink of extinction, it's a bad time for her to be picky." She gasped. "I have a wonderful idea. Maybe he should come along with us."

"Are you insane?" Shira asked, "No way. Not in a million years."

"See, Ellie? This is why I don't like you giving Shira ideas." Brooke walked over to the saber and his possum brothers. "Shira wants to know if you gentlemen want to escape the flood with us."

"I'd rather be road kill," one of the possums said.

"That can be arranged," Manny said.

"How hilarious," the male saber said, "Give me a minute to talk with my brothers about this."

"Diego, are you nuts?" his brother asked, "We are not going with them."

"Listen, we won't get anywhere if we keep traveling at night. These guys can protect is during the daytime. You gotta trust me on this. What kind of animals would go against two mammoths, one of the last existing sabers and a sloth?"

Back with the group, Shira slapped Brooke over the head. "Why the heck did you invite them along?"

"Because the two of you might be the only sabers left on Earth," Brooke said.

"She has a point, Shira," Ellie said.

"I'm sorry, but when exactly did I join the dating service?" Shira asked.

"Crash, Eddie and I would be happy to travel with you guys," Diego told the group.

"Who are Crash and Eddie?" Manny asked.

"Us," Crash said.

"We'll come along with you as long as you treat is nicely," Eddie said. Manny gave him a stern look. "See? That is the opposite of nice."

"Well, I guess we'll have a snack on the go in case these guys end up bugging you, Manny," Shira said.

"You wanna go that far, kitty?" Crash asked.

"Oh, that tears it!" Shira growled, trying to attack the possums. She didn't get the chance to as they climbed up a tree.

"You wanna know something?" Eddie asked, "We're carrying diseases."

Shira shook her head. "Ok, thanks to Brooke, it seems as though we have no choice but to travel together."

"But were going to act like one big happy family," Ellie said cheerfully, "All of us are gonna have roles. Manny and I will be parents, Brooke will be our child, Diego and Shira will be Brooke's aunt and uncle and Crash and Eddie will be their children. Now let's get a move on so the ground doesn't fall from under our feet."

"Wow," Diego said, "For a fat girl, she seems to be jolly. Unlike the fat male mammoth."

"Excuse me!"

"Hey, buddy," Manny said, "You can call me fat all you want, but I won't stand for you calling Ellie fat. She's not fat. It's just her beautiful fur. It might make her look big and poofy, but it's beautiful nonetheless."

"Okay," Diego said, "Good to know." He looked to his brothers. "He's fatter than her."

They started making their way back towards the migration. Crazy Carol started rambling on to a yak woman about how she could lose weight with a certain treatment. The yak's husband told her that she was as thin as a twig and was beautiful the way she already was. Crazy Carol started rambling on about how she could cure his eyesight.

Meanwhile, the group was making their way down the trail. As they did so, Diego and his possum brothers were trying to camoflouge into different places. They were making sure that there weren't any predators nearby. It almost looked as of they were playing a game.

Shira sighed, looking at Ellie. "We'll never make it at this pace." She looked to see Diego hiding behind a tree. She shook her head. "Diego, it's okay. You can lose the camoflouge now. You're safe."

"Okay," Diego said, "Safe? Please." He whistled to the twins. "Crash, Eddie, you two go and scope it out."

"What you got?" Crash asked.

"Perimeter all clear," Eddie said.

"We're good to go."

The twins looked up in the sky to see a hawk flying above them. They gasped in fear. "Hawk!" They both fell on the ground, playing dead. Diego did the same thing, placing all four of his paws up in the air.

Shira gave the male saber a weird look. "Diego, what are you doing?"

"Playing dead," Diego told her.

Brooke walked over to Shira. "Shira darling, why don't you do that?"

"Because I'm a saber," Shira said.

"Well, it looks to be a lot of fun."

Diego opened one eye, looking at Shira. "Is he gone?"

Shira looked up to see the hawk flying away. "He's gone. You can get up now."

Diego got up and followed the female saber. "Wow! If you weren't here, that hawk would've flew down and snatched me for dinner. That's how cousin Frank went. Boy, I really feel for you. I really do. I can't imagine what it would be like to be one of the last few of your species."

"I'm not the last one."

"What a brave soul you are. You're one of the only females I've ever met that gives herself encouragement. That's right. Never give up hope. Who knows? There may be more sabers out there. More than we know."

"Diego, look at our pawprints. They're the same shape." Shira showed Diego the pawprints in the ground.

"Well, how do I know those aren't your pawprints?"

"Well, then look at our shadows." They both looked at their shadows. "We match."

"Hey, you're right. They're the same. You must be part possum." Diego nudge Shira's shoulder as he walked away.

Shira scoffed. "You wish." Deep down inside, Shira knew that she had to find some way to show Diego who he really is. Some way.

* * *

 **WELL, HERE IT IS. THE NEXT CHAPTER TO MY FAMOUS ICE AGE STORY. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	5. The First Attack

CHAPTER 4

THE FIRST ATTACK

The group started traveling on thin ice. It wasn't totally thin, though. It was still able to carry huge animals such as a whole migration. Brooke looked at the ice, fearing that it was too thin to walk across. Ellie looked to see that Brooke was moving along too slow.

Ellie sighed. "Brooke, there are continents that move faster than you. Come on. We need to catch up with the others."

"I just have this funny feeling that the ice may be too thin," Brooke said, "Besides, I'm not sure how it's holding up two ten tin mammoths, a medium-sized saber and a medium-sized possum."

Something could be heard swimming underwater. Shira looked to see something trying to break through the ice. She gasped. "Everyone! Run!" When she said this, Diego knew there was danger and played dead. Shira groaned. "Diego, don't play dead. If you do, you'll be dead."

"She's telling the truth," Crash said.

"Get up, Diego!" Eddie shouted.

They all looked to see a tiger shark pop out of the ice, taking to the sky. He crashed through another part of the ice, swimming back into the water. The looked to see that there was no way to get off the ice. Luckily, there was some thicker ice on the other side. They all decided to jump.

Manny looked to the group. "Ladies first."

"Oh, you are such a gentleman, Manny," Brooke said, taking the moment to jump on thick ice, smiling with enthusiasm, "Now that is style."

"You're next, Ellie."

"Okay," Ellie said, making her way towards the edge. She took a deep breath and jumped, landing on thick ice next to Brooke. She looked at Shira. "Come on, Shira. You're next."

Shira looked to see that it wasn't far of a jump. She used whatever energy she had to jump, but before she could make it to the other side, a crocodile jumped out of the water, staring at the remaining group members on thin ice. Its eyes were blood red as it had sharp claws sticking from its fingers and toes. Even its legs had claws. Its teeth were razor sharp and were as long as a saber-tooth squirrel's fuzzy tail. It was a horrifying beast.

The group tried to back away, but there was just no escaping the croc. They looked to see the tiger shark behind them. He also had blood red eyes and his teeth were as long as a racoons tail. Not only that, but he had spikes sticking out from the top of his body. There was no way of trying to attack him. He could defeat an enemy in a heartbeat.

The crocodile was gaining on them. Shira ran up and roared at it, but its roar was louder than hers. She had no choice but to turn back, but her instincts were getting the best of her. She ran up and clawed the crocodile in the face, scratching it's snout. The crocodile striked back, but it missed Shira as she jumped out of the way. Manny ran over and picked the croc up with his trunk and slung it back into the water. The shark went after it, but not before glaring at the group once more before making it's way back into the water.

Soon, everyone was on thick ice. Ellie sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you all are okay."

"I'm glad none of us got hurt," Shira said.

"What in the animal kingdom was that?" Brooke asked.

"I have no idea."

"From now on, land is safe as the water is not safe."

"That..." Crash said.

"Was..." Eddie said.

"Awesome!" Diego exclaimed.

"Well, we're not your normal herd," Brooke said, "But even with everything that happens, we treat each other like family."

Diego walked up to Shira. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Well, you know how female sabers can be," Shira said, "We do whatever we can to protect ourselves. Saber girls can get feisty at times."

"Some possums may not think of that as a compliment because they think bravery is just dumb. I think you take too many risks. Maybe that's why sabers are going extinct. Maybe you should run away more often."

"Wow, thanks for the advice."

"Anytime." Diego walked back over to his brothers.

Ellie walked over to Manny. "That was the bravest thing I've ever seen."

"What?" Manny asked, "Taking down that beast. Oh, that was nothing. I've taken down worse. No reason to compliment me."

"There's always a reason to compliment. If it wasn't for you, everybody on that ice float would've been mauled. You're a lifesaver."

"Well, it's no big deal. That's actually the first nice thing you've ever said about me."

Ellie chuckled. "I'm sure it's not the last time I'll ever do that."

While Manny walked away chuckling, Shira was grumbling to herself. "I think you take too many risks. Maybe that's why sabers are going extinct. Maybe you should run away more often.' Can you believe him? He is the most infuriating, subborn, and narrow-minded possum saber I've ever met."

"I have a feeling that you like him," Brooke said.

"I don't like him."

"Don't worry, Shira darling. Your secret is safe with me." Brooke twirled over to Ellie. "Your secret is also safe with me."

"What secret?" Ellie asked, bewildered, "I don't have a secret."

"You know, the one where you are starting to take a liking for Manny," Brooke said.

"That's ridiculous. I am not taking a liking to Manny. We're just friends."

"Okay, but we're living in a melting world, dear. You're going to have to tell Manny your feelings sooner or later."

An hour later, the group made their way back with the migration, but they made their way to the woods where they were trying to walk down a hill. Crash, Eddie and Diego were still on top of the hill, getting ready to ride down.

"Ready, Eddie?" Crash asked.

"Set," Eddie said.

"Let's go," they both shouted, riding down the hill on a log.

Diego did the same thing, having the time of his life. "No brakes. Gotta roll. See you guys at the bottom."

"You still think he's the guy for me?" Shira asked.

"Yes," Brooke said, "He's tons of fun and you're only fun in a certain way. He completes you."

"Of course he does."

Crash rushed over to Shira. "Hey, Shira, can you pull back the tree and shoot me into the pond?"

"No," Shira said.

"Oh, come now, Shira darling," Brooke said, "Do you expect to impress with that kind of attitude."

"I'm not trying to impress anybody."

"Why are you trying so hard to convince him that he's a saber?"

"Because that's what he is. I don't care if he thinks he's a possum. You can't be two things when you're only one."

"You may think that's true."

"She's not gonna stop talking about it, Shira," Ellie said, "It'll be easier on the rest of us if you just go with it."

Shira sighed, looking at Crash. "So what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Pull the tree and shoot me into the pond," Crash said.

Shira wasn't very sure about Crash's request. "I don't know."

"If you don't wanna do it because you're too chicken, we can get Diego to do it."

"No, I can do it."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Crash placed himself in the tree. "Let's do it."

"Have you done this before?"

"Only like a million times." He motioned Shira to push the tree branch back. "Farther, farther, farther." Shira pushed it back a bit farther. "Perfect. Fire!" Shira let go of the tree branch as Crash shot through the sky. "Yeah! I can fly!" He started singing a tune. " _I believe I can fly."_ Before he could finish, he smacked into a tree, falling to the ground.

Eddie panicked. "Crash! Crash! Crash!" He made it over to his brother, you was knocked out on the ground. "Crash, are you okay?"

"What happened?" Diego asked.

"Shira shot him out of a tree."

"What is wrong with you?" Diego asked Shira.

"He said he could do it,' Shira said.

"And you listen to him?"

"Crash, whatever you do, don't go into the light," Eddie said.

"Can I help in any way?" Shira asked.

"I think you've helped enough," Diego said.

"Crash, Crash," Eddie said, "Don't leave me. Who's gonna watch my back? Who's gonna be my wingman in mayhem? Who's gonna roll in that dung patch with me?"

"Dung patch?" Crash said, sitting up, "Wait, my legs. I can stand."

"He can stand."

"I can run."

"He can run. It's a miracle!"

"A miracle, baby!" Diego exclaimed in excitement, looking at the others, "What can I say? They're my brothers. They've turned my life into an adventure." He turned to face his brothers. "You guys are dead. Thanks for embarrassing me." He went over to his twin brothers as they got what they deserved.

"Not the face!" the twins shouted.

The rest of the group covered their eyes. What happened in front of them was too embarrassing to see.

* * *

 **HERE YOU GO, GUYS. THE NEXT CHAPTER.**

 **I LOVE THE PART IN THE ORIGINAL MELTDOWN MOVIE WHERE MANNY SHOT CRASH OUT OF A TREE. THAT WAS HILARIOUS. I BET IT WAS A LOT MORE HILARIOUS WHEN I MADE SHIRA DO IT IN THIS STORY.**

 **WELL, THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE HERE SOON.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	6. I'm Not a Possum, I'm a Saber

CHAPTER 5

I'M NOT A POSSUM, I'M A SABER

When night fell, everyone was starting to prepare for the night. Brooke was gathering wood to make a fire while Ellie and Shira were starting to become comfortable. Manny was doing the same as he watched Diego and his possum brothers run around the campsite. He smiled, remembering the time when he and his older brother used to play like that when they were kids.

Manny went over to Brooke. "Diego's doesn't seem like a bad guy."

"I happily agree with you, Manny dear," Brooke said, "He's not half bad. Plus, I think he may have the hots for Shira."

"Well, I don't have the hots for him," Shira said.

"There's nothing wrong with him, Shira. Sure he's confused and crazy, but he's a really sweet guy."

"So?"

"What's holding you back from caring about him?"

"The family I once had."

"That was your childhood family, Shira darling. The family that you grew up with. This is a different family I'm talking about. You can start your own family. A family that you can start on your own. All you need is Diego's help."

"No, Brooke. I'm not doing it." Shira sighed. "I'll let you in on a little secret. Everybody that I love, I lose them. It's just been that way. I don't even know the reason myself. I can't start my own family. It's just too risky."

"Okay, but just think about it this way. If you let this chance go to waste, you're just letting your whole species go down the drain, and that's just selfish." Shira shook her head and walked away. Ellie walked up to Brooke who smiled. "I think I'm getting through to her."

"I'm starting to worry about her," Ellie said.

"So am I," Brooke said, "I'm sure she knows that she can talk to us about anything. We are like sisters, after all."

Diego chased after his brothers. "Wait, I got you."

"Slowpoke," Crash said.

Diego got himself stuck under a log as he tried to grab Crash. He tried getting himself out, but to no avail. Shira chuckled as she went over to the male saber. "Need help?"

"No, I'm good," Diego said, "I'm just catching my breath."

"You're stuck."

"I am not."

"Okay, let's go." Shira started to walk away.

Diego sighed. "I can't. I'm stuck."

Shira giggled, looking over at Ellie. "Hey, Ellie, do you mind helping Diego out here."

Ellie walked over and removed the log off of on top of Diego. "There you go, sweetie."

"I could've gotten myself unstuck, you know," Diego said.

"I know, but I'm always happy to help." Ellie walked away to prepare for the night.

Diego walked up to Shira. "How is it that she's so strong?"

"Well, mammoths have a certain ability," Shira said, "While they're strong enough to lift things, sabers are fierce and we hunt. You know, I think you might be able to do the same thing."

"I'm not a saber, remember?"

Shira sighed. "Diego, look. Inside, you think you're a possum, but you're truly a saber. You look like a saber and I'm pretty sure you can act like a saber if you at least try." She looked to see that Diego had walked away from her. This worried her as she went up to the male saber. "Diego?"

Diego looked around the place, seeing a large tree no longer covered in snow. "I know this place." He suddenly saw the tree in his mind, only it was covered in snow and a blizzard hit. He gasped. He thought it was only a vision, but it was really a memory.

 _Inside Diego's mind, he saw a small orange saber cub traveling on his own without his mother. He was scared and frightened as the storm started to become strong. He shivered with fear and from the cold as he tried calling for help. "Help! Help me!" He started crying when nobody heard his plea for help. "Somebody help me, please." He looked in front of him to see a large tree covered in snow and saw a part of it not covered. He walked over to it and sat down, resting his head on his paws. He sighed. "I guess I'll just have to spend the night here." He closed his eyes as he did his best to try and go to sleep. He was tired from a long day._

 _Out of nowhere, a female possum was hanging upside down the tree, staring at the little saber. "Hello, dear."_

 _Diego opened his eyes to see the female possum staring at him. He sat up. "Hello."_

 _"Are you lost?"_

 _"Well, I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't have a mother anymore."_

 _"You poor dear. What's your name, sweetie?"_

 _"Diego. What's yours?"_

 _"My name is Beatrice. What happened to your mother, dear?"_

 _"I don't wanna talk about it. I hope you don't mind, but I really need to get some sleep. I get cranky if I don't get my nap."_

 _"Well, why don't you come home with us? I wouldn't want you sleeping out here in this storm."_

 _"Thank you, but why did you say us? I don't see anyone else with you."_

 _Beatrice giggled. "Come on out, Crash and Eddie." Suddenly, two little possums appeared next to their mother. "These are my boys. Crash and Eddie."_

 _"Hi!" the baby twin possums exclaimed._

 _Diego chuckled. "Hi there."_

 _"Come with us, dear. We'll give you a home," Beatrice said._

 _Diego smiled, knowing that somebody was willing to take him into their home and make him a part of their family. He stood up and followed them to their home, which would soon be his new home._

Diego opened his eyes, not being able to see the memory anymore. He looked at Shira, who was beginning to worry about him. He walked up to her, seeing one of her pawprints on the ground. He place a pawprint of his own next to hers, seeing indeed that they were both the same. He looked at the female saber and smiled. He knew she was right.

"I'm not a possum," Diego said, "I'm a saber. Just like you."

Shira nodded. "Just like me."

The two sabers started walking together as Diego said, "You know, deep down inside, I knew I was different. I was a little bit bigger in size than my brothers." Shira gave him a look which made him state the truth. "Okay, a lot bigger. Now I understand why none of the possum girls found me appealing. I wasn't anything like them."

"That's too bad because as far as sabers go, you're...you know..." Shira couldn't find the right words to say.

"What?"

"Handsome."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"What about me do you find handsome?"

"I don't know." Diego have her a serious look. She knew she had to say something. "Well, there's your...abs."

"What about them?"

"They're...big."

"Ah, you're just saying that."

"No, I'm serious. They're huge. Biggest darn abs I've ever seen."

Diego chuckled. "This is incredible. It's been a crazy day. This morning, I woke up a possum and now I'm a saber."

Shira chuckled. She knew that she finally showed Diego who he really was.

Back over at the campsite, Brooke was busy making a fire while Manny and Ellie were resting.

"Boy, Shira sure did take a big leap with Diego today," Manny said.

"Sure did," Ellie said.

"She stood on the shore of uncertainty and dove right in," Brooke said, "How brave she was! She finally faced her fear."

"What are you talking about? Shira doesn't have any fears."

"Come on, Ellie. Everybody has a fear. That's what separates us from rocks. Rocks have no fear and they sink. It may surprise you that I have also experienced fear myself."

"No," Manny said, "You?"

"Yes, as impossible as it may seem, the sloth has natural enemies that are connected to harming us."

"I wonder why?"

"Perhaps it's only jealousy. The point is that fear is natural."

"Brooke, fear is for prey," Ellie said, "Shira is not in that category."

"You may say that, but even predators have fear," Brooke said, "Shira is making her fear her predator and she is the prey. Whatever that fear is, she can stalk it by just talking to us about it."

"What happens if she keeps letting her fear take control of her?"

"Then she's sinking like a rock. I have a feeling that Shira has a secret fear and I won't rest until I find out what it is." Brooke was finally able to make a fire.

Ellie sighed. "Manny, do you think Brooke's right? Is Shira hiding a fear from us?"

"I don't know, but if she is, we'll help try to get her to talk about it. She knows that we're there for her." Manny looked to see that Ellie was still deep in thought, looking down about the whole thing. He placed his trunk on hers. "There's no reason to worry. We'll figure this out." For the first time ever, Ellie smiled at Manny. She even blushed a bit, but she did her best to hide it.

She couldn't hide it from Brooke, though. The female sloth knew that something great would happen for Ellie and Manny in the future.

* * *

 **HEY, GUYS. NEW CHAPTER FOR YOU GUYS HERE.**

 **SORRY. DON'T HAVE TIME TO TALK. GOTTA RUN!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	7. Secrets and Overreacting

CHAPTER 6

SECRETS AND OVERREACTING

Back over by the tree, Diego and Shira were still walking on the trail. Diego had a lot of excitement in him as he just found out that he was a saber.

"So what do sabers do, anyway?" Diego asked, "Do we do some types of tricks? Or do we roll around everywhere? Or do we hit each other on the shoulder?" He banged his shoulder on Shira's, seeing as though she wasn't expecting it. "Whoops. Sorry."

"That's okay," Shira said.

"I guess I don't know my own strength yet."

Shira chuckled, but sighed, looking at Diego. "Diego, can you keep a secret?"

"I guess so."

"You guess so? That makes me not want to tell you at all."

"Okay, okay. You don't have to get so worked up about it. I can keep the secret. I promise."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure by the claws on my paws that I just figures out I had."

Shira shook her head. "Okay. I'm gonna tell you something that I've never told anyone else. Not even my friends."

"I'm all ears."

Shira took a deep breath. "Okay. There's something from my past that nobody knows about. The girls think that I never had much of a family except for my mother. It's true that I had a mother as a cub, but I also had a father. And an older brother. Plus, we belonged in a pack. It's true that we lived near an ocean. That's where I learned how to fish and how to swim. My father taught me how to swim and learn certain skills. My mother taught me how to hunt. My brother taught me how to play games that would help me defend myself if need be. We were just one big happy family. We were all we needed. When I became a preteen, an attack was placed on my pack. My parents hid my brother and I in a tree while they went out to fight. I was scared. My brother reminded me that it was important to stay strong at situations such as what we were going through. Some time later, everything was quiet. My brother and I went out to see that the entire pack...was dead. Killed. Gone forever. Never to see the light of day again. We met the enemy behind the whole scene. Pirates. My brother and I ran, but the captain of the crew caught up with me. My brother tried to come back for me, but I told him to run. Turn away. Never look back. It took a moment, but he finally made up his mind by listening to me for once. I was taken with the pirates. At first, I was known as their prisoner, all tied up like a wolf tied to a tree. After some time, I had come to be a part of their crew. I had pretended to be part of their scurvy crew. Once we were on the larger part of the continent, I had my escape plan ready. I had volunteered to stay on the ship to keep watch. Well, I had pretended that somebody had attacked me by spreading bird blood on the floor of the ship. There were claw marks everywhere and I had ended up screaming. I ran off as fast as I could and never looked back. A couple of days later, I was given a home in Sierra's saber pack. I remained there until I met Ellie and Brooke. So that's my life's story."

"Now I know why you don't want me to tell the others. Is there any deeper details that I need to know?"

"I'll keep names anonymous and other stuff for a different day. Right now, I think it's time to focus on important things."

"What important things?"

"Diego, I think this might be our chance to save our species."

"How are we gonna do that?"

Shira almost felt uncomfortable just thinking about it. "Well, you know...um..."

"Wait. Did you just...?"

"What? No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that."

"I just found out that I'm a saber five minutes ago and you're already hitting on me. I thought only the males did that. It's kind of weird for a girl saber to do that."

"I didn't mean it that way. I just meant in time. Not at this very moment. I just meant that it's our responsibility."

"What?"

"All right. That came out wrong. I...You're very handsome, but we just met."

"Responsibility? Just doing your duty? Is that it? Ready to make the ultimate sacrifice just to save your species? Well, I have some news for you. There won't be any saving your species tonight or any other night." With that, Diego stormed off, anger rushing through his veins. Shira sighed, knowing what she said was stupid.

The female saber made her way back to the camp. Ellie was the first one to see her. "How did it go?"

"Not bad," Shira said.

They knew she was lying the moment Diego stormed in, kicking dirt on the fire Brooke was making. He started making his way over to the trail. "Okay, let's go. You traveled with us all day, now you're coming with us at night."

"But we can't see at night."

"Then enjoy the flood. I hope you know how to swim."

Crash scoffed. "I can't even stand to look at her."

"Pervert!" Eddie shouted.

They all made their way back on the trail. Brooke kept her eyes on her footing, saying random stuff. "Making friends everywhere you go. Just making friends."

"Look out, Brooke," Ellie said, "There's a stump." It was too late. Brooke tripped over the stump in front of her.

"Not anymore," Manny said.

Shira walked up to Diego, who gave her a look of anger. Shira chuckled. "I thought we could walk together."

Diego shook his head. "Crash, can you ask her why she thinks that?"

Crash hopped on Shira's back. "Diego says that you're very rude and to go away."

"He didn't say that," Shira said, looking at Diego, "Look, maybe if we spend more time together..." Shira couldn't finish her sentence as she tripped over a rock.

"Tell Shira that I need some time alone right now," Diego said.

The possum twins jumped onto Shira's back. Crash stared her down. "He said to go jump in a lake."

"And possums rule," Eddie said as he and Crash gave each other a fist bump.

"I can hear him, you know," Shira said.

"What do you want?" Crash asked, "A metal?"

They all felt something shake underneath them. What they didn't realize was that they were standing on top of a pile of boulders. They couldn't see where they were going because it was too dark, but what they saw was that the boulders were moving in various directions. They were close to the other side of the trail where they were suppose to be walking on. Shira jumped off the boulders and looked to see that it was moving because everyone else was moving.

"Stop moving!" Shira shouted. They all did what Shira said and stopped moving. "Thank you." Shira was able to think of a plan. Ellie and Manny were on top of the boulders and their weight would make everyone fall to their doom. "Manny! Ellie! Lock trunks!"

Ellie held her trunk out as Manny grabbed it. "Don't let go!"

"That's one thing I would never do," Manny said.

Shira looked to see that Crash and Eddie were close to the right ledge. "Crash! Eddie! Grab on to that ledge!"

Eddie started laughing. "Funny. Now what's your real plan."

"Just do it!"

Eddie hugged his brother tight. "Bye, Crash."

"Bye, Eddie," Crash said.

"Bye, Diego!" they both said.

"Now!" Shira shouted. The twin possums did as they were told and grabbed the ledge. Suddenly, Diego grabbed the ledge that Shira was standing on. Shira sighed, knowing that what she needed to tell the male saber couldn't wait any longer. "I'm sorry if what I said before offended you."

"What do you mean by 'if' it offended me?" Diego asked.

"That it offended him!" Eddie shouted.

"I mean that it offended you," Shira said, "You just overreacted is all."

"What?" Diego said.

"Take it back!" Crash shouted.

"There are other lives at stake here," Brooke said, holding onto Ellie for dear life.

"She's got a point," Manny said.

"It was a misunderstanding," Shira said.

"It was insensitive," Diego said.

"Apologize," Ellie said.

"Why should I have to apologize?" Shira asked, "He's the one that overreacted."

"Just apologize!"

"No!"

"Do it!"

"Okay, I'm sorry," Diego apologized.

"What?" everyone asked, shocked.

"She's right. I overreacted."

"You mean..." Shira said.

"Don't you dare say another word or I'll push you off the ledge," Ellie said.

The boulders started to slip. Brooke screamed in fear. Shira knew there was only one way to save everyone. She looked to see a tree closer to Ellie. She had an idea. "Ellie, pull Manny closer towards you. Brooke, grab onto that tree over there. Crash, Eddie. When I say now, jump on top of Manny's back. Diego, hold on tight to the ledge."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Diego asked.

"Because I'm your only chance. I know what I'm doing. Ellie! Pull!"

"Hold on tight," Ellie said.

"I'm not letting go," Manny said.

Ellie pulled Manny closer towards her as Brooke grabbed the tree. Shira looked at the possum twins. "Now!" The twins jumped on Manny's back, relieved to be alive. Shira looked at everyone. "Jump off the rocks!" They all jumped off, but Brooke was hanging on the ledge as she slipped off the tree. She was starting to fall, but luckily Diego and Shira caught her by the paws.

Diego looked at Shira. "I guess we finally did something right together."

Shira smiled. "I guess we did."

Brooke chuckled. "Don't mind me. Just hanging on the edge of a cliff here."

The two sabers pulled the female ground sloth up, placing her back on land. The group made their way back on the trail in search for camp.

* * *

 **HELLO, EVERYONE. I HAVE FINALLY UPDATED CHAPTER SIX.**

 **SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE LAST WEEK. I HAD TO DO A VOLUNTEERING ASSIGNMENT AT MY SCHOOL AND I HAD THE ACT THIS SATURDAY. IT WAS PRETTY BUSY.**

 **WELL, THAT'S IT FOR NOW.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	8. The Goddess of Fire

CHAPTER 7

GODDESS OF THE FLAMES

The group had decided that traveling at night was too dangerous and decided to find camp for the night. Diego and Shira had already fell asleep. The possum twins were hanging upside down by their tails, sleeping peacefully. Diego was doing the same thing. Shira was sleeping on the ground next to the tree where the other three were sleeping on. Brooke was in the tree as well in her sleep meditation mode. Manny and Ellie were still awake, sitting next to each other by the fire.

Ellie sighed, placing her head on Manny's shoulder. She noticed this and quickly moved away. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Manny said. He sighed. "Remember the good old days?"

"Which good old days?"

"You know. Yesterday and last week. Back when the trees went up and down and the ground stayed under our feet."

Ellie smiled. "Yeah, those were the good old days. Possums were possums and sabers were sabers." She sighed. "Well, we better get some sleep."

"Sounds good."

"Tomorrow's the day the vultures said that we're all gonna die."

"Don't give up hope, Ellie. I know we can get through this. As long as we stick together, everything will be fine." Manny placed his trunk on Ellie's. "I promise."

Ellie blushed. It was the second time that night Manny placed his trunk on Ellie's. She wasn't sure why, but she actually...liked it. She sighed peacefully. "Well, we better go to bed. Tomorrow's another day."

"It sure is." Soon they were fast asleep as the fire was slowly dying down.

It was somewhere in the middle of the night. Brooke was sound asleep in her meditation mode when all of a sudden, small sloths came out of nowhere and removed Brooke out of the tree, placing her on a wooden carrying platform. They started leading her on the trail in the forest. They didn't notice that she had woken up, bewildered by what was going on.

"Wait a minute," Brooke said, "What in the world is going on?" She looked to see that the tiny sloths were leading her to a statue of her head. They were even able to make her head using leaves and hay. There was even a wooden tiara placed on the head. She gasped in delight. "Now that's what I call respect." She was placed on the ground, where a tiny blue sloth placed a tiara on her head. "Oh, how nice of you! You all must love me. I must ask who the decorator is. This is simply incredible."

The tiny blue sloth walked up to Brooke and handed her two stones. "Goddess of Fire."

"Goddess of Fire? Well, it's about time somebody appreciated my true potential." Brooke held the two stones up in the air. "Let there be fire!" Brooke scraped the two stones together, placing sparks on some vines that lit up around the head statue of Brooke's. The tiny sloths were gazing wonderfully at it, loving the lights that were placed all over the place. They dragged Brooke over to her own throne chair as they say her down in it. She smiled as the tiny sloths carried her up a small hill. Brooke was amazed with everything that was going on. "Oh, if only the others could see me now." It was only a second when she saw a pool of lava right in front of her. "This is either really good or really bad." Brooke looked to see that they were planning to throw her in the lava pool. She had to convince them that it was all a mistake. "No, no, no. I am Goddess of Fire. Why are you trying to destroy Goddess of Fire."

The blue sloth walked up to Brooke. "A thousand years bad juju for killing Goddess of Fire. Super heated rocks from Earth's core is surging to the crust, melting ice built up over thousands of years."

"You all are a very advanced race, darlings, but together, we can look for a solution."

"We have one - sacrifice the Goddess of Fire."

"Well, that's not very advanced."

"Worth a shot."

The tiny sloths held Brooke up in the air, ready to throw her in the lava. Brooke had much fear in her. "No! NO! AAAHHHH!"

A shaking sound could be heard from around the giant head statue of Brooke started crumbling to the ground. The blue sloth gasped. "Bad juju!" All the tiny sloths started running away into the forest, dropping Brooke on the ground and leaving her alone. She looked to see all the destruction that was caused. Looking to see the crack of dawn coming upon her, Brooke ran off, making her way back to the others before they woke up to see that she was gone.

Meanwhile, the sun had awaken and the remaining group members were still asleep. Water could be seen surrounding them. Shira was the first one to wake up and noticed the water on the ground. She gasped. "Water? Oh, no. Guys, get up!" Shira didn't notice that her hip slammed into the tree, causing the two possums and Diego to jolt awake and fall out of the tree.

Diego shook his head. "What the heck just happened?"

"Sorry. Didn't mean for my hip to get in the way."

"Where did all this water come from?"

"Crash, I thought I told you not to drink anything before bed," Eddie said.

"I didn't do this," Crash said, "At least not all of it."

"What happened?" Diego asked.

"We overslept," Shira said, "Come on. We need to get a move on." The female saber went over to wake the two mammoths. "Manny, Ellie. Wake up. We need to start heading out towards the boat."

"What?" Ellie asked groggily.

"Okay, I'm up," Manny said, waking up. When he did, he looked to see that Ellie was lying on him like a pillow. "AAAHHHH!"

"AAAAHHHH!"

"Why are you screaming?"

"Why are you screaming?"

"You were sleeping on me like a pillow."

"You were sleeping on me like a pillow."

Shira cleared her throat. "Are you guys done?"

"Yes," both the mammoths said.

"Well, let's go. We don't have all day."

"What if we're the last creatures left alive?" Crash asked.

"We'll have to repopulate the Earth," Eddie said.

"That's actually not a bad idea considering that there's three females in the group."

Everyone looked to see Brooke running to the group. "Hello. Good morning, everyone. Oh, what a night I had. You'll never guess what happened to me."

"Were you sleepwalking?" Ellie asked.

"No, no, no, Ellie dear. I was kidnapped by a tribe of mini sloths."

"That was my second guess," Manny said.

"And they worshiped me," Brooke said, "Sure, they tried to throw me in a pool of lava, but they worshiped me."

"You were dreaming," Shira said, "Come on. The water's rising faster than we're moving."

"I'm telling you. I was kidnapped. I was worshiped. Why won't you believe me? Guys!" Brooke knew that nobody would believe her. "Fine."

Everybody started making their way on the path. Who knows how long they had until the flood came? Brooke was starting to slow down because she was beginning to grow tired. Shira groaned. "Brooke, hurry up! Move faster!"

"Can we slow down a little?" Brooke asked, "I'm dying here." Manny laughed, making the female sloth give him a look. "It was a figure of speech."

"I know it was," Manny said, "I thought it was funny."

They passed through a part of a trail where the vultures were staring at the group. Shira had a creeped out look on her face. "They're just sitting there watching us."

"I wish I knew what they were thinking," Brooke said.

The male vulture stared down at the group, smirking at them.

 **Food, glorious food…we're anxious to try it**

 **Three banquets a day, our favorite diet!**

 **Just picture a mammoth steak, fried, roasted or stewed**

 **Oh, food, wonderful food, marvelous food, glorious food!**

 **Food, glorious food,**

 **Poached possum served flambé,**

 **Broth made from a sloth,**

 **Or a saber-tooth souffle,**

 **Why should we be fated to,**

 **Do nothing but brood,**

 **On food, magical food, wonderful food, marvelous food?,**

 **Food, glorious food,**

 **Flesh picked off the dead ones,**

 **Rank, rotten, or chewed,**

 **Soon, we'll be the fed ones!**

 **Just thinking of putrid meat**

 **Puts us in a mood for**

 **Food, glorious food, marvelous food, fabulous food, beautiful food,**

 **Magical food,**

 **Glorious food!**

They all slid down a steep hill as they were trying to run away. The next thing they knew was that they were all hanging on a tree branch.

Shira looked at Brooke. "There. Now you know what they were thinking." Once she said that, they all fell off the branch, crashing on the ground. The day just keeps getting weirder and weirder for the group of mammals.

* * *

 **WELL, HERE IT IS. ANOTHER CHAPTER TO MY BRILLIANT ICE AGE STORY. ONLY A COUPLE OF MORE CHAPTERS TO GO.**

 **WELL, CATCH YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	9. The Last Straw

CHAPTER 8

THE LAST STRAW

The group continued traveling down the path. They were starting to get closer to the boat. Brooke was in the back humming the song the vultures sang since it was stuck in her head.

Shira started to get agitated. "Brooke!"

"I'm sorry," Brooke said, "It's just so catchy."

Ellie gasped as she was looking ahead. "Look, there's the boat."

"We made it!" Manny cheered.

"We're gonna be okay." Ellie hugged Manny with her trunk. When she realized what she was doing, she let go. "Sorry. It was a moment to hug someone."

"That's okay. Excitement can get to the best of us."

"We showed those vultures who's boss," Brooke said, walking up front, "Come on. Let's go." When Brooke took the first step, she was thrown back by a geyser filled with steaming hot water. She started laughing. "It's only a little bit of hot water and steam. How bad can it be?" They looked to see a dodo bird passing by and was shot up in the air by the geyser. The next thing they knew was that he ended up becoming a cooked bird. "Oh, dear."

"Okay, come on," Shira said.

"Shira, get back," Ellie said, "It's a minefield out there."

"There's only one way to get to the other side. We have to go straight through."

"Straight through?" Diego asked, "Excuse me, but I think we all would like to keep the fur on our bodies. Let's just head back and go around."

"There's no time," Shira said, "The dam will burst before we make it. We'll drown."

"If we go through this, we'll get blown to bits."

"We go forward."

"We go back."

"Forward."

"Back."

"Forward!"

"Back!"

"Can I say something?" Ellie asked.

"No!" both sabers shouted.

"You are one of the most stubborn and hard-headed sabers I've ever met," Shira said.

"Oh, please," Diego said, "If there's somebody more stubborn and hard-headed around here, it has to be you."

"You're nothing but an idiot with a brain the size of an acorn."

"You're nothing but a stupid saber who's breath always smells like this."

"Says the saber who thought he was a possum."

"Says the saber who's family was killed by a band of pirates, became their prisoner, faked her own death and then went off to join a pack."

Shira gasped. "I thought I could trust you to keep that a secret."

"Well, that's what happens when you make me mad. That proves that I am a true saber."

"Think that all you want. I don't care. Enjoy the flood. I'll just go my own way. I need some alone time right now, anyway." Shira started walking away from the group.

"Shira, wait!" Ellie called out.

"Let me go and talk to her, Ellie," Brooke said, "I promise we'll meet you over at the boat. You stay here with the others." Brooke followed Shira into the woods. "Hold on, Shira. I'm coming with you."

Diego looked at the dam to see that the ice started to crack. He looked at the others. "You know, now that I think about it, maybe it's best if we take the shortcut."

"I don't know," Crash said, "Drowning sounds like a much better way to go."

"Blown to bits sounds so sudden," Eddie said. He gasped when he saw Diego going through the field of geysers. "He's gonna get himself killed."

"Diego, wait!" Ellie shouted.

"Diego!" Manny called out.

Meanwhile, Shira was walking through the woods. She found a place to stop so she could cry in peace. She kept thinking of all the things that others had told her. When she started to believe that she was the only saber, she finally met up with Diego, who didn't even know he was one until she was able to convince him of who he truly was on the outside. She had to mess it up by being the type of mammal that she was and saying the things that she shouldn't have said. Lying to her friends and possibly the only saber that she'll ever come to know. It was true that she left her father, but she went back and saw that her parents, aunts, uncles and cousins were all killed by the pirates. It was horrifying to think of whether or not her brother was still alive or not.

Shira was taken out of her thoughts when she saw Brooke heading her way. She dried away the tears and looked at the female sloth. "Why did you follow me out here? I said I wanted some time alone."

"Shira, at times like this, you don't need to be alone," Brooke said, "I told you that of you needed someone to talk to, I'm always available." The ground started shaking. Brooke gasped. "We'll talk more when we get to the boat. Come on." The two females started making their way towards the boat.

Back over at the mountain that holds the boat, the group of mammals were running around all over the place looking for Brooke and Shira.

"Excuse me, have you seen a saber and a sloth?" Ellie asked.

"No, I haven't," the gazelle told her.

"Have you seen a saber?" Crash asked.

"And a sloth?" Eddie asked.

"Nope," a beaver said.

"She's a female sloth and she has curly hair and blue eyes," Manny explained to a red ostrich.

"Hey, buddy, have you seen a saber?" Diego asked.

"Sure have," the anteater said, "Medium-sized."

"Where?"

"I'm looking at him."

Diego rolled his eyes. "Not me. I'm talking about a female saber. Her fur is silver snow white with black stripes, she had blue eyes and she wears earrings on her left ear."

"Poor guy. He doesn't even realize that he's a saber."

Diego sighed. "Listen, buddy. I lost my mother as a cub. I met this female possum who had two sons of her own and she gave me a home. Throughout most of my life, I thought of myself as a possum before I met another saber. She was the reason I was able to figure out that I am truly a saber. I should've thank her for that, but...I was being a jerk to her."

Ellie ran over to Diego. "I don't see them anywhere."

"Maybe they're already on board," Manny said.

"Let's check to make sure. Come on." The group made their way up the cliff towards the entrance of the boat.

Shira and Brooke were getting closer to the boat as the female sloth pointed towards it. "There it is!" They were making their way towards it as the traveled through a tunnel. Brooke made it through, but the ground started shaking again and caused some rocks to block the entrance of the cave, trapping Shira inside. The other side blocked the other entrance, having no way for the female saber to escape. Brooke gasped. "Oh, no. Shira!"

Shira knew it wouldn't be too long before the flood happened. She needed help getting out of the cave. Brooke was the only person who knew Shira was trapped and needed to rely on her to get the others. "Brooke, I need you to go and get the others."

"What about the flood?"

"It's gonna happen whether we're on the boat or not. Now go get the others."

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself."

"I'm not asking. If you don't go now, I'll bust down all these rocks and then rip your head off."

"The first option to find help sounds better. I'll be right back." Brooke ran off to find the others. The only thing Shira could do now was wait.

Brooke started making her way up the trail that led to the boat. She looked to see the others helping mammals aboard. She ran as fast as she could, bumping into a few mammals along the way.

"Hey, watch it!" somebody in the crowd shouted.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I have an emergency," Brooke said.

"Is it more important than trying to stay alive?"

"Brooke, there you are," Manny said.

"We didn't see you and Shira on the boat and we started to worry," Ellie said, "What happened?"

"Shira's trapped in a cave," Brooke said.

"Oh, no," Diego said, sprinting off through the crowd.

The rest of the group followed Diego. They had a friend to save.

* * *

 **HERE YOU ARE. CHAPTER 8. I HAVE STRUCK AGAIN. IT'S CHRISTMAS BREAK WHERE I'M LIVING AT. HOORAY! IN A COUPLE OF DAYS, CHRISTMAS WILL BE HERE. AWESOME!**

 **WELL, I'M GONNA GO AND GET INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. I'LL HAVE ANOTHER CHAPTER AND THE EPILOGUE FOR YOU GUYS SOON.**

 **WELL, PEACE OUT FOR NOW.**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	10. The Great Flood

CHAPTER 9

THE GREAT FLOOD

The group started making their way towards the cave Shira was trapped. Diego was running faster than everyone else. He knew well that his inner saber was starting to get the best of him. He was the first one to get to Shira. He placed his ear against the rocks.

"Shira!" Diego said.

Shira gasped. "Diego!"

"Hang on! We're gonna get you out of there!"

"Um,...guys," Brooke said, pointing at the dam.

Manny gasped. "The dam's breaking. Brace yourselves!"

Before their eyes, water spewed from the dam, pouring out upon the water free ground. Everything that was once a part of land was no longer in sight. All the trees, grass, and so much more couldn't be seen. The only plants visible were seaweed and kelp.

The cave Shira was inside was starting to fill up with water. The sabress gasped. "Guys, get me out of here before I drown."

"Hang on, Shira!" Diego called out. He looked towards Manny. "Manny, get that log over there."

Manny grabbed the log with his trunk and brought it over to Diego. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna place this log underneath the rocks. I'm gonna try and make a hole big enough for her to climb out. I'll need your help, though."

"You got it." Manny helped Diego place the log underneath the rocks. They both looked at each other, nodded their heads, and pushed the log down as hard as they could.

Crash and Eddie were doing their best to escape the water. They finally made it to higher ground. Crash gasped in some air. "Okay, we're safe."

"Somebody help me, please!" Brooke shouted, hanging onto a tree branch.

"Just when we thought we were safe," Eddie said.

"How are we gonna save her?" Crash asked.

They both thought up of a plan. Crash grabbed Eddie's tail when Eddie smiled. "Ready, bro?"

"I'm always ready."

"Possum sling-shot!" Eddie shouted as Crash slung him into the water. Eddie grabbed Brooke and brought her onto dry ground. "There you go."

"Oh, thank you so much, boys," Brooke said, "You saved my life." She gasped as she looked out at the water. "I do feel sorry for that poor piece of driftwood. Tree bark should not have to end like this."

"What are you? A hippie?" Crash asked.

"Yes, I am. How could you tell?"

"Lucky guess."

Diego and Manny were still trying to break the rocks apart from each other to free Shira. Even the female saber was trying to push the rocks out of the way. Ellie was on her way to help when her foot was caught in between some tight rocks. She tried pulling her foot out, but it didn't work and she ended up bruising it up and spraining it.

"Help me!" Ellie shouted, "I'm stuck!"

Manny looked to see Ellie in trouble. He had eyes of worry. "Ellie!" He looked over at Diego. "Diego, I need to help Ellie."

"Go on," Diego said, "I'll take care of things here."

Manny swam off to help Ellie, who was struggling to get her foot free. Once he got there, he held Ellie's trunk. "You're gonna be okay. I promise."

"I think I was struggling so much, I ended up hurting my foot," Ellie said.

"Don't try to struggle. It'll only make it worse. I'll get you free." Sucking in some air, he dived underwater and looked to see Ellie's foot trapped. He used his trunk to gently move the rocks away. With a little force, Ellie was able to swim away from the rocks. Manny rose back up to the surface and held Ellie's trunk tightly. "Hold on tight. I'll find us a place to escape this flood."

"I see Brooke and the twins over there on that rock stand." Ellie looked to see Brooke and the possum twins in the distance. They swam over to them, Ellie holding on tight to Manny since she couldn't swim well. They both made it to dry land. "We're safe now."

"Are you both alright?" Brooke asked.

"I'm fine," Manny said.

"My foot's a bit swelled up, but I'll be okay," Ellie said.

"Oh, dear," Brooke said, "Let me take a look at it."

Ellie looked up at Manny. "Thank you for saving me out there."

"Ah, it was nothing," Manny said, "Don't start thinking of me as some hero or anything."

"What you did was true bravery. That's something I didn't really expect from you. I underestimated you. I'm sorry for telling you that you couldn't be a part of our herd. I was being stubborn. And kind of stupid."

"That's alright, Ellie. I know you were trying to look out for your friends. That's one of the things I like about you. You're always looking out for others."

"You know, you're more than what I thought you were."

"Awwwww!" Brooke said, "I always knew those two were meant to be."

Back at the cave, Diego was still trying to free Shira. He finally was able to loosen the rocks from the bottom and make a hole big enough for Shira to climb out. He help the female saber climb out of the cave, holding her tight.

"Hold on to me, Shira," Diego said.

"I'm not letting go," Shira said, "I can't believe you did that. Nobody has ever risked their lives to save me."

"Isn't that what you do in a herd?"

Shira smiled, but when she looked behind Diego, she gasped. "Diego, look out!"

Diego looked to see the tiger shark and crocodile coming up in the water, swinging their claws and spikes. The two sabers were lucky not to be sliced as Diego placed Shira on a large piece of driftwood.

"Swim over to Ellie and the others," Diego said.

"I'm not leaving you alone with those things," Shira said.

"Shira, I need you to listen to me. Those things are dangerous."

"I know that, Diego. I've fought them before."

"I know, but something from my past returned to my memories and I have to face it alone. Now go back to the others." He looked out at the sea. "Come and get me, Kapro and Carcharo!"

"Kapro and Carcharo?"

Diego was surprised to still see Shira behind him. "I didn't ask you to go back to the others, Shira. You need to get out of here now."

"I just said I'm not leaving you and I meant it."

"Shira,-" Before Diego said another word, the tiger shark grabbed him by the tail and dragged him down underwater. When Kapro let go, Diego stared him down, ready to attack his opponent. A memory came into his vision.

* * *

 _Little Diego was sitting behind a bush, trying to hide his giggling as he knew he would be found. A paw was placed on his back and he looked behind him to see his saber mother smiling at him._

 _"Found you," Diego's mother said._

 _"You always know where to find me," little Diego said, "You must have psychic powers."_

 _His mother giggled. "You can say that. Okay, now it's my turn to hide and your turn to find me."_

 _"Okay, I'll count. You find a good place to hide." Diego turned around and covered his eyes with his paws. He counted to twenty and turned around. "Ready or not, here I come." He started his search, eager to find his mother. He searched for a few hours, but there was no sign of her. He started to get worried and even became scared. "Mommy? Mommy? Where are you?" He kept calling out for her until he heard someone shouting._

 _"Help me!" Diego's mother shouted._

 _"Mommy!" Little Diego ran to where his mother's shouts could be heard at. He was too late, though. A horrifying sight was placed right in front of him. He saw two creatures known as a Kapro and Carcharo diving in the water along with his mother, who was face down in the water, motionless. "Mommy!" When the tiger shark and crocodile heard the young cub, they came after him. Diego screamed in fear and ran off. Thus came the reason as of how Diego thought of himself to be a possum._

* * *

Diego had come back to his senses as he met eye contact with the tiger shark and crocodile. He started scratching and clawing at them, trying to scare them off, but they were not afraid to fight back. After so much scratching and cutting, scrapes and bruises were left on both opponents. Diego looked up to see falling rocks coming down. The male saber moved away just in time, but the enemies didn't notice and were crushed.

Meanwhile, Shira was floating in the wooden piece of driftwood. She was starting to worry, but a paw came up to the surface. She gasped when she saw it was Diego. Pulling him up, she saw that he was hurt. She placed her paw on the male saber's cheek. "Are you okay?"

"I am now that they're gone," Diego said.

"Why did you do that? You could've died trying to stop those things."

"That's what you do in a herd."

Shira smiled, but her ears perked up when she heard some familiar voices. "I hear the others." She looked in the distance to see the rest of the group on a flat boulder. "There they are. Come on, let's make it over there."

Back with the others, they all started to worry about the others. Brooke was growing nervous. "Oh, where could they be? I'm starting to become worried. I never did get the chance to speak with Shira. I hope she's okay. I know her childhood wasn't great, but I just wanted to tell her that everything will be okay and that she has us as her family. Now she's lost out there with Diego and I'm afraid the end has come for the rest of us. We're all going to die."

Ellie sighed. "I never thought it would end this way."

"Guys, we can't give up hope," Manny said, "We'll make it through this. Who knows? A miracle might be right in front of us."

Crash gasped at what he saw coming towards them. "Guys, look!"

Eddie gasped. "It's Shira and Diego! They're alive."

Ellie and Manny rushed over to help the sabers on the boulder. The female mammoth hugged her saber friend. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

"Trust me," Shira said, "Hopefully I'll never have to go through that again."

"Diego!" the twins shouted in relief, hugging their saber brother.

"I didn't think you guys would miss me that much," Diego said.

"We thought we'd never see you again," Crash said.

Brooke smiled at everyone, knowing that it was best to be surrounded by the ones you care about during catastrophic times. She looked out at the surrounding waters to see the most amazing thing. Gasping, she showed the others. "Everyone, look! The flood. It's disappearing. We're gonna live. Oh, Manny, you were right. A miracle is always right in front of us."

Everyone smiled, knowing that everything would be okay. The flood would be over soon and everybody would go back to their normal lives. Well, almost normal.

* * *

 **HEY, GUYS. HERE IT IS. THE NEXT CHAPTER TO THIS STORY. DON'T WORRY. THIS ISN'T THE END. I STILL HAVE THE EPILOGUE TO WRITE.**

 **I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO A GUEST NAME CALVIN FOR THE NAMES AND THE IDEAS FOR THE TIGER SHARK AND THE CROCODILE. I DO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.**

 **WELL, I WANT TO WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR. FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT LOVE READING MY ICE AGE STORIES, I WILL BE MAKING A NEW YEAR STORY FOR IT.**

 **WELL, MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW.**


	11. Epilogue: Love Brings the Herd Together

EPILOGUE

LOVE BRINGS THE HERD TOGETHER

When the flood ended, all the animals that were safely on the boat started piling off it. They were all glad that the flood was over and everyone can go back to doing their daily routines. Some have decided to stay on the boat and make their new homes. Others go back to living the way they normally do.

Crazy Carol jumped off the boat. "We made it! I knew we would make it. Well, back to what I normally do. Trading. Who wants a new shell?"

Brooke was walking with her two mammoth friends. She was happy that a miracle did come for them. "You know, I'm thinking about starting up a swim school."

"Don't even think about it, Brooke," Ellie said.

"I think I'll call it...Brooke's Beautiful Swim School." She looked to her right and screamed. She was surprised and terrified to see the mini sloths.

"All hail, Goddess of Fire!" the blue sloth shouted as the other small sloths cheered.

"The mini sloths are real?" Manny asked.

"Hello there," Brooke said, hiding behind Manny.

"Goddess of Fire avert flood. Join us, O great and noble flaming one," the blue sloth said.

"No, not so fast," Ellie told the group of sloths, "You all make a quality offer, but Goddess of Fire has a prior commitment. A herd needs her. She is the gooey, sticky stuff that keeps us together. She made this herd, and it would be incomplete without her."

Brooke gasped with tears of happiness welling in her eyes. "You mean it?"

"I do." Ellie smiled. Brooke ran up and hugged the female mammoth, who hugged her back. "Besides, you're like a sister to me."

"So are you, Ellie. Well, I better go check on everyone else. I'll be back."

Once Brooke walked away, Manny made his way towards Ellie. "Ellie, now that this whole flood business is over, I was wondering if...well,..."

"Yes, Manny?" Ellie asked.

"I was wondering if you would...well, I don't know exactly how to say this."

"Manny, are you trying to ask me out?"

"Uh, yeah. That's exactly what I was going to ask you. Will you go out on a date with me?"

"It took you some time, huh? After talking to me before, you were too nervous to ask me out. At least you had courage. That's one thing I like in a man. Yes, Manny. I'll go out with you."

"Great. How does tomorrow night sound?"

"Sounds great. See you then." Ellie was about to walk away when she saw something out in the distance. She gasped. "Look!"

All the animals turned their heads to see an entire pack of saber-tooth tigers walking up from the trail, making their way to where they need to go. Everyone was bewildered. After all the times they said that sabers were going extinct or that Shira was one of the last few existing, they were proven wrong.

Shira almost fainted. Diego's excitement got the best of him when he saw what he thought he'd never see in his life. "We're not the last ones anymore. This is awesome!" The male saber made his way over to the pack, but he turned his head to see Shira just standing there. "Aren't you coming? This is a saber pack, after all."

"You wanna go with them?" Shira asked.

"I am a saber, aren't I? I should probably be with a saber, don't you think?"

"Well, yeah, unless..."

"Unless?"

"Unless I...Diego, those guys over there are pretty much the only family I have. They care about me as much as I care about them. Don't get me wrong, I care about you, too, but I've had bad experiences in the past with saber packs. I'm better off with being part of a herd. That's my decision. You can go wherever you wanna go. It's your choice. I wish you the best of luck. And I...I..."

"Yes?"

Shira sighed. "I hope you find everything you're looking for."

Diego's smile turned into a frown, but he still looked Shira in the eye and pretended to be happy about it. "Oh, well,...I hope you find everything you're looking for, too. Maybe we'll see each other again."

"Yeah. Maybe we will."

Diego smiled as he turned away and made his way over to the pack. Crash and Eddie followed him, but not before the waved goodbye to the herd. Shira walked away, finding a puddle to look at her reflection. It was once again just the two of them. She knew that's how it'll always be.

Brooke and the others walked over to Shira as the female sloth placed a paw on her shoulder. "Shira, you've come a long way since we've met and I give you credit for that, but you need to let go of your past so you can have a future. I don't know what happened during your childhood, but I know it's holding you back from all that's going on right now. You care about Diego as much as you care about the rest of us. Go on. Don't let him get away."

"You really mean that?" Shira asked.

"Well, what are you standing around here for?" Ellie asked, "Go get him, honey."

Shira smiled. "Thanks, guys." Shira started running to Diego. "Diego!"

Diego heard Shira calling his name and stopped in his tracks along with his possum brothers. "Shira." He looked to see Shira hanging upside down from a tree by her tail.

"Diego, I don't want is to be together because we have to," Shira said, "I want us to be together because we want to. And I wanna be with you, Diego." She couldn't hold on by her tail any longer as she fell and hit the ground. She got up on her own and chuckled. "What do you say?"

"Well, all I have to say is,...you're possum enough to me."

They both nuzzled their heads together for the first time. It was a moment that was meant to last. All the sabers that were standing around them started roaring in happiness, knowing that true love finally sparkled for Diego and Shira.

The others smiled in happiness as tears of happiness were shed. Even Crash and Eddie were crying seeing that their brother was happy. It wasn't a happy moment after Eddie blew his nose on his brother's tail. That was just plain gross.

The remaining herd members smiled, happy to see their friends were happy. Brooke smile was wider than anyone else's. "Well, I guess that's that. It's just us now. Two bachelorettes on a journey together to find our place."

"What are you talking about?" Ellie asked, "Manny's coming along with us. He and I have a date tomorrow night."

"Well, you won't be a bachelorette for long. Mind if I tag along with you two?"

"That's fine, but just so you know, we are not carrying you," Manny said.

"That's fine," Brooke said, "I suppose this female hippie sloth was made to walk."

"I'll carry her," Shira said, pulling Brooke next to her and Diego. Crash and Eddie were sitting on top of their brother's back.

"But your here's leaving," Ellie said.

"We are now."

"Shotgun!" Brooke exclaimed, hopping on Shira's back, "Shira, who do you like better? Me or Ellie?"

"Ellie," Shira said, "Don't get me started on favorites, Brooke."

"Shira, you can't choose between your kids," Diego said.

"Brooke's not my kid. She's not even my dog. If I had a dog and my dog had a kid and that kid had a pet, it would end up being Brooke."

"Shira, can I have a dog?" Brooke asked.

"I'll think about it," Shira said.

"Diego, can I have a dog?"

"I'm going along with what Shira said," Diego said.

"You know, Diego, I have a feeling you'll make a great dad," Shira said.

"So are we officially a herd now?" Brooke asked.

"Yes!" everyone exclaimed, walking down the trail. They were on their way to find a new home wherever the road took them. They knew they would always be a herd.

Meanwhile, in a giant iceberg floating in the river, Two creatures were frozen solid once again, but the ice was not melting for a long time. There was one thing a mammal couldn't miss was the movement of both the tiger shark's and crocodile's eyes.

* * *

A magical place was seen in the clouds as Scratte woke up from unconsciousness after diving inside a pond of water. She looked around to see where she was at. Her mouth dropped and her eyes sparkled with tears of happiness and the glimmer she saw in front of her. It was the gates of heaven. This wasn't any ordinary heaven, though. This was acorn heaven. Scratte was so excited that she ran through the gates and made her way over to the pool of acorns that were scattered all over the place. It was a place that the female squirrel never wanted to leave.

Something happened, though, and it ended up removing Scratte from the pool of acorns. The glorious place was vanishing right before her very eyes as she was pulled away from her magical acorn heaven and total darkness surrounded her.

The first thing she saw when her eyes opened up was Brooke smiling at her. "Hello there, little darling squirrel. I just saved your life. Oh, I'm so glad you're okay." Scratte was not happy as she started attacking Brooke. Her magical acorn heaven was gone and it was all because of the female sloth. "Hey, I just saved your life. You should be thankful." Scratte wouldn't stop attacking her as Brooke ran off, not knowing where she was going as she screamed and ran in the distance, ending another glorious adventure.

* * *

 **Waiting for Tonight**

 **Like a movie scene,**

 **In the sweetest dreams,**

 **I have pictured us together**

 **Now to fell your lips,**

 **On my finger tips,**

 **I have to say is even better**

 **Than I ever thought it could possibly be**

 **It's perfect, it's passion, its setting me free**

 **From all of my sadness,**

 **The tears that I've cried, I have spent all my life**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **When you would be here in my arms**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **I've dreamed of this love for so long**

 **Waiting for tonight**

 **Tender words you say,**

 **Take my breath away,**

 **Love me now, and leave me never**

 **Found a sacred place, lost in your embrace,**

 **I want to stay in this forever**

 **I think of the days when the sun used to set,**

 **On my empty heart,**

 **All alone in my bed**

 **Tossing and turning emotions were strong, I knew I had to hold on**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **When you would be here in my arms**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **I've dreamed of this love for so long**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **When you would be here in my arms**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **I've dreamed of this love for so long**

 **Waiting for tonight**

 **Gone are the days when the sun used to set,**

 **On my empty heart all alone in my bed**

 **Tossing and turning,**

 **Emotions were strong**

 **I knew I had to hold on**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **When you would be here in my arms**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **I've dreamed of this love for so long**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **When you would be here in my arms**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **I've dreamed of this love for so long**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **When you would be here in my arms**

 **Waiting for tonight, Oh**

 **I've dreamed of this love for so long**

 **Waiting for tonight, oh**

* * *

 **WELL, THIS IS IT. THE LAST UPDATE FOR THIS STORY, BUT DON'T WORRY. I'LL HAVE MORE FOR YOU GUYS COMING SOON.**

 **I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS FOR ENJOYING THIS STORY. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.**

 **NOTE: THE SONG ABOVE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. IT IS OWNED BY JENNIFER LOPEZ. I DO WANT TP THANK A.G. WICKED FOR REQUESTING THAT SONG. OH, AND SHIRA SINGS THE SONG ABOVE. I'M SURE YOU KNOW WHY.**

 **WELL, I'LL HAVE PLENTY MORE STORIES FOR YOU GUYS FOR THE NEW YEAR. UNTIL THEN, PEACE OUT!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW. I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS.**

 **lovesgod12 OUT!**


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